At a Kansas City, Kansas, nursing home, employees tested positive for COVID-19 and went back to work the next day.
Health workers cared for residents who had tested negative for the virus in the same gowns and masks they’d worn into the rooms of those who’d tested positive.
“I wash my hands,” a nurse told inspectors. “But I wear the same PPE.”
Now the federal inspection that documented those and other risky practices could play into 12 lawsuits brought by families against Riverbend Post-Acute Rehabilitation over the deaths of residents at the nursing home.
Dozens died of the coronavirus at Riverbend — one of the state’s deadliest nursing home outbreaks, a federal database shows.
“This report just confirms the allegations we’ve already made,” said Rachel Stahle, a lawyer representing families in seven of the lawsuits. “It certainly bolsters our position.”
What the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found at Riverbend, she said, makes clear the home wasn’t taking proper steps to control infections.
“The report is not surprising,” Stahle said. “Nonetheless, it’s still quite shocking. You have numerous employees who (were) working with symptoms.”
Riverbend argued a federal law shields it against the lawsuits, but a federal judge rejected the argument two weeks ago. That cleared the way for the families to proceed in state court in Wyandotte County.
Stahle expects discovery — an evidence-gathering stage — will start within a month.
Riverbend didn’t respond to a request for comment on what appears in the inspection report.
Federal inspection
After scouring Riverbend’s daily logs and interviewing its staff, inspectors concluded the home didn’t take vital steps to protect residents. That made it likely they would get exposed to the coronavirus, “resulting in serious harm or death.”
The inspections took place in late April and early May, when the home had about 90 residents. Inspectors found employees weren’t following key guidelines to curb the virus’ spread — like segregating residents who’d tested positive for the virus from those who hadn’t.
Inspectors saw health workers caring for COVID-19 patients without proper protection. Some were missing gloves. Others lacked eye protection or a mask.
